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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
UGANDA: Mediator says peace process back on course
KAMPALA, 7 Feb 2005 (IRIN) - The announcement by the Ugandan government of a new limited ceasefire has put the protracted peace process in northern Uganda back on course, chief mediator Betty Bigombe and a key government minister said on Monday.
The government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) could sign a truce soon, Bigombe and Internal Affairs minister Ruhakana Rugunda said.
The war in northern Uganda has been going on for 18 years, claiming thousands of lives and forcing at least 1.6 million people to flee their homes. Negotiations that had been expected to end the conflict aborted in late December 2004, but on 3 February, the government said it would halt military operations against the LRA for 18 days on condition that they confined themselves to a designated area as efforts to revive the peace talks continued.
The truce took effect on Friday morning within a 45 sq.km zone in the neighbouring districts of Gulu and Kitgum.
Bigombe said the peace process had been energized by the ceasefire announcement and both sides were getting back to serious business.
"The ceasefire is absolutely holding and the peace process is now on course," she told IRIN by phone from the town of Gulu, 380 km north of the capital, Kampala. "We have not recorded any incident since Friday."
At the moment, she added, each side was holding internal consultations.
Rugunda, who heads the government's delegation in the talks with the rebels, told IRIN there was hope that a ceasefire agreement could be signed before the expiry of the 18-day period.
"We are making some consultations before the agreement could be signed," Rugunda said. "It is difficult to put a calendar time on this, but the process is on course and we shall make it public for everybody to know when we are about to sign."
The British charity, Oxfam, in a statement released on Sunday, said the peace process needed more time. "We think that more time and patience is needed to rebuild confidence in the process and get down to real discussion about how to end this war," Emma Naylor, head of Oxfam in Uganda, said. "Eighteen years of conflict cannot be ended in 18 days."
She added: "This is a desperate situation and any step towards peace is a step in the right direction. The LRA needs to respond to this ceasefire positively. At the same time, we are worried that the tight limitations on this ceasefire risk undermining it as soon as it starts."
Oxfam called on the international community to use its influence to end the suffering in northern Uganda by supporting the peace process. "We must ensure a supportive environment for these talks," it added. "We urge the Ugandan government and the LRA to give this process their full commitment, whatever setbacks may occur along the way.
Rugunda's team and the LRA had been expected to sign a peace deal on 31 December 2004, but the process collapsed when the rebels asked for more time to consult on a draft agreement the government had proposed.
The government then launched a new military offensive against the rebels, ending a truce that had lasted several weeks, but Bigombe kept up her mediation effort, meeting LRA leaders in northern Uganda, where they are based.
The LRA has been fighting since 1988, ostensibly to overthrow Museveni's government. The group is notorious for its attacks on civilian targets and has been widely condemned for its indiscriminate killings and kidnapping of children.
Over the years, the LRA has abducted thousands of children, forcing the boys into combat and the girls into sexual slavery.
[ENDS]
This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004
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